How Could I Fail To Mention...

Well, it's been some time since I've been here. The past few weeks have been a bit extreme for me and Russell. Each day holds a new challenge and we seem to flying by the seats of our pants at times, but what a thrill, right? One moment, I'm meeting with someone from Greenville County Schools to discuss a program to bridge the gap between our upcoming High School graduates and our local business leaders, and the next moment I'm working on a environmental scorecard for the County.

Each day over here brings a new and exciting challenge. We get to see generosity as well as see places where we need improvement. Yesterday, I saw both. I was in line at County Square trying to pay my car taxes. I have moved recently, and I hadn't changed my address with the County so I never got my notices. Anyway, the gentleman in front of me was trying to switch a car title, I think. He didn't speak English, or if he did, he didn't speak it very well. This is where the improvement comes in. No one behind the window spoke Spanish. No one. Not even a bit of it. So, he was getting frustrated, the woman behind the window was getting frustrated and the people in the long line that was forming were getting very frustrated. I watched and wondered if anyone in the building spoke Spanish. I knew one person did, but he was all the way down at the Human Relations Commission. I thought about going to get him, but I knew I would lose my place in line and I was next!

It was at that moment that someone behind asked if they could help. So, they walked up to the counter and translated everything back and forth. The issue was resolved quickly and the line moved forward. I say this as an act of generosity. This woman who translated was not in my line. She was not with the County. She did not work there. She was passing by, on her way to something else, and saw the situation and asked if she could help. And, it saved us all a bit of trouble. Just goes to show you that generosity sometimes helps more than those you are intending it to help. And, Greenville does that a lot.

So, in that frame of mind, I wanted to help promote a book written by one of our Task Force members, The Rev. Beth Templeton. Beth has been working long and hard for over a year to write the book below. It currently sits on my desk and each time I pick it up, I find a new perspective that I hadn't thought of before. It's truly inspiring. In this time of economic crisis, we look, many times, to our friends & family for guidance and support. Looking to our neighbors can also help sometimes.

Beth will also be serving as our "Visionary" at our upcoming Momentum Series on February 26th. The topic will be on the Current Economic Crisis in the U.S. and How Greenville is Reacting. We have a new segment in Greenville, commonly referred to as "newly poor." These are individuals and families that are experiencing poverty for the first time. Many of them own houses with mortgages, own cars, have kids in college, etc, and have lost their income due to the times. We are, in some ways, unprepared to handle this new group. We have services in place, but many of them are designed for them. How can we, as a community, reach out to help them so that we can ensure that "every man, woman and child in Greenville has a home?"

Momentum
Featuring: Beth Templeton
February 26th
11:45AM - 1:00PM
County Square, Conference Room B
301 University Ridge
Greenville, SC 29601

Please RSVP to: bkoonce@greenvilleforward.com



Synopsis of Loving Our Neighbor:
Loving Our Neighbor: A Thoughtful Approach to Helping People in Poverty provides guidance and practical advice to help organizations and individuals make wise and thoughtful decisions that will have long-lasting and positive implications when providing financial assistance to those in need. Templeton shares fresh insights, thought-provoking lessons, and timeless wisdom through an organized and compassionate process that includes various approaches designed to help others decide how, when, and whom to help in times of need. Loving Our Neighbor encourages building relationships with those who can benefit from assistance, ultimately enriching their lives in countless ways. This resource:

· Provides an understanding of the Biblical call to help
· Assists others in comprehending a life of poverty
· Advises the different ways to aid those battling financial hardship
· Illustrates how to organize a direct ministry for a church
· Facilitates others in gaining a deeper understanding of the social and economic conditions that lead to poverty.
An early editor said of Loving Our Neighbor: “Though Jim Wallis and Ron Sider are well known, it seems to me that their readers end up well informed and motivated but still asking, “What can I do? [This] book, in effect, comes alongside those hunting for a way to address these problems and helps them find exactly the tools they need.”

Table of Contents for Loving Our Neighbor can be found at www.lovingourneighbor.com.

Purchase the Book through Amazon.com; Cokesbury.com; and iUniverse.com. Our goal is to sell at least 500 copies by June 2009 through these combined sources.

Recent Review of Loving Our Neighbor by Greenville Magazine’s Elizabeth Parrish states: Beth Templeton, an ordained minister and former executive director of United Ministries in Greenville, penned this practical guidebook for schools, churches, businesses, nonprofit organizations and individuals interested in pursuing charity—the right way. Divided into three parts, the book covers the Biblical support behind charitable giving; the many ways by which to be charitable (without feeling duped); and the big picture behind the cycle of poverty.
One of the things I found most interesting about the work is the way it addresses real people’s doubts about giving. Giving to the less fortunate seems natural, but to whom should we give? Templeton explains that while we may feel inclined to give to the individual in the street who stops us to tell us his story, passages from the Bible support giving to charitable organizations instead. For example, Matthew 10:16 says: “Be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.” In being wise, Templeton explains, we know that the right thing to do is to give money, but we also know that giving money the wrong way may hurt rather than help. Handing cash to a panhandler may ease our guilt in the short-term, but in all likelihood he or she may use the money for drugs or to avoid pursuing a more long-term form of aid. Handing off that money won’t help raise that person from poverty by finding him a place to live, helping him find a job or by helping him get his GED. Relating a catalogue of experiences, Templeton describes the best types of organizations to which we should give and the best methods for helping those in need.
Another section of the book I found particularly intriguing was a section in which Templeton challenged popular ways of thinking. For example, she postulates: “Anyone can get a job if they want one [...] Of course, I do have transportation, child care, contacts in the community, adequate people skills and good health.” This statement proves an excellent point. Many of us have worked hard in our lives and careers to get to where we are today—and we may wonder why someone else can’t just do as well with just a little initiative. But Templeton lets us see these double standards for what they really are: illogical and unfair ways of thinking.
Templeton says that when people doubt they’re doing the right thing, they often end up doing nothing. This book provides logical and practical answers—along with food for thought—on the ins and out of charitable giving.
So, follow those humane instincts this holiday season and do something about poverty in the Upstate. And check out Loving Our Neighbor if you get a chance. It’s a great read!